Sample Essays and Plans


turning point of scene 3 in act 3 when Iago manages to ‘enmesh’ the Moor under his spell. It is fascinating to watch how Othello changes from the honourable husband who trusts his wife to a jealous bully who plans to kill her.


3 Iago warns him to ‘observe’ Cassio when he is with Desdemona and reminds Othello that she once deceived her father Brabantio in marrying in secret. The fascinating question is why Othello trusts Iago more than Desdemona. His ‘honest’ Iago has made him blind to the truth. The audience now sees a man who is only used to a male military world and is unable to deal with people outside of the battlefield envoirment. Iago is subtle and he deceives Othello. It could be said that Othello is not very complex by comparison. He does not think about things. Instead, he is a shallow character, judging on appearances. He is also completely unfair to Desdemona.


4 By the time the end of the play comes around, Othello is filled with anger and jealousy. Othello is honourable in ways, but turns out to be a violent revenger killing his innocent wife and trying to justify his terrible crime at the end. This means the noble soldier is a foolish husband. His downfall is shocking. The one thing that prevents him from being regarded as totally evil is that he eventually regrets his great mistake at the end. To some extent, it could be said his suicide also makes up for his evil and so he deserves some sympathy.


5 Othello has a weak side to his character. He is exploited for this weakness by Iago and is happy to receive complements from him. Jealously rules the Moor and he is also self- destructive. This means there is a lot of complexity about him. He is correct in saying that he ‘loved not wisely’. He does not fully want to kill Desdemona, but feels it is for the best. This is yet another serious error of judgement, to think that he is stopping his


Othello


wife from betraying ‘more men’. Othello has many conflicting feelings. He describes Desdemona as being both ‘sweet’ and ‘fatal’. These opposites show his personal confusion and uncertainty. This suggests he is never sure about what he really feels for her.


6 The transformation in Othello from the romantic hero to the unhindged killer makes him a tragic character who fascinates and repels in almost equal measure. He is of a royal background and has been a heroic soldier. Othello always loved Desdemona, but his love was too possessive. His insecurity as an outcast in Venice might explain his. The strange thing is that even though the audience condemns Othello’s terrible behaviour, they still have some sympathy for


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